I hadn't played Madden for several years and got 17 and 18 as a gift. I gotta say I was not impressed. My receivers can't make a catch unless they're wide open while computer receivers can make a grab in triple coverage. The other 10 defenders on my defense are stupid and don't follow the called play. Oline just blocks (usually poorly) on run plays instead of creating gaps where they're supposed to be.

It is as if, because they have the exclusive NFL license, they do not try because they're the only game in town. Kind of makes sense from a business standpoint; do not allocate resources to a product that is going to sell no matter what.

acmillis wrote:It is as if, because they have the exclusive NFL license, they do not try because they're the only game in town. Kind of makes sense from a business standpoint; do not allocate resources to a product that is going to sell no matter what.

acmillis wrote:It is as if, because they have the exclusive NFL license, they do not try because they're the only game in town. Kind of makes sense from a business standpoint; do not allocate resources to a product that is going to sell no matter what.

Sucks for us consumers, though!

Congratulations. You've discovered the reason monopolies are bad.

*artificial monopolies.

If Madden held a monopoly on it because it was the best and most widely bought, despite there being other NFL option games, it would be a "good" monopoly. Monopolies aren't by their nature bad, usually just the ones that don't get their by merit but by artificial means. See Netflix or Amazon.

If Madden held a monopoly on it because it was the best and most widely bought, despite there being other NFL option games, it would be a "good" monopoly. Monopolies aren't by their nature bad, usually just the ones that don't get their by merit but by artificial means. See Netflix or Amazon.

right, because there's no other way to buy things or stream video entertainment

madden is the definition of a monopoly because it owns exclusive NFL rights, and thus has zero competition in the realm of NFL-based video games. And in this case of a true monopoly, we, the consumer, are experiencing the deleterious effects (controlled price and stagnated innovation)

all you have to do is read this wikipedia article to get the full story of the Madden franchise, and why it has been so stale for the past 10 years:

ESPN NFL 2K5 is an American football video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports and the Sega Corporation. It is the sixth installment of the NFL 2K series. The game was originally released on July 20, 2004, for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox video game consoles. It was the last NFL 2K game to be released before Electronic Arts signed an exclusivity deal with the NFL to make 2K's rival Madden NFL series the only officially licensed NFL game and was also the last game still being developed by Sega.

ESPN NFL 2K5 was the first in the 2K series priced at $19.99 the day it shipped, much lower than market leader Madden NFL at $49.99. This greatly reduced Madden sales that year; one EA Sports developer recalled that "[i]t scared the hell out of us".[1] EA reduced Madden NFL 2005's price to $29.95. In December 2004 EA Sports acquired an exclusive rights agreement with the NFL and NFLPA to be the sole creator of NFL video games.[2] The deal terminated 2K Sports production of any further NFL games. The ensuing season, Madden 2006, saw pricing returned to the $49.99 MSRP.

In December 2010, a U.S. district court judge certified a class action anti-trust lawsuit against Electronic Arts for anti-competitive practices to proceed.[3] Electronic Arts settled the class action suit in July 2012 for $27 million, and retained its exclusive NFL license.

Finally playing Longshot mode. Just about 50% through... And I'm not sure how Wade will get drafted. Dude has such a toxic personality. I've passed every drill but I've failed to stop him from acting like a scarred manbaby.

what I really hate about this game.. isn't so much the game but it's the Madden Championship that's played. I was pretty good at the game, won a few local tournaments (consecutively even) and always dreamed of playing the big game.. I was 19, my dreams were a little short-sited. Anyways, I hate how the 'official' tournaments are MUTs! The game's biggest stance is to be realistic but yet they make the rosters unrealistic with having Jerry Rice, Bo Jackson, and other greats in the game.

That's not how the Madden Championship should be played. It makes it a hell of a lot easier when you have HOFers all over the field. "Oh, my #1 WR is getting double coverage.. I'll just throw it to Chad Johnson". These are not the best players in Madden. When I was a young buck, I loved beating clowns with Brad Johnson as my QB and everyone else needing to have M. Vick and still lose.

Also, I hate the fact that the passing/vision cone was removed. I thought that was such a fantastic feature. If your WR was open to the left, you had to 'look' in that direction in order to pass it accurately. Such a realistic feature that I was sadden when it was removed.

Out of all the changes though, I'd say the biggest one that hurts those with football smarts is displaying what your opponent ran the play before. Football can be very chess-y and trying to figure out what is being ran against you and how to adjust is almost given to the players now days.

If Madden held a monopoly on it because it was the best and most widely bought, despite there being other NFL option games, it would be a "good" monopoly. Monopolies aren't by their nature bad, usually just the ones that don't get their by merit but by artificial means. See Netflix or Amazon.

The problem with monopolies in general is that without competition complacency becomes a real problem. Why innovate and improve when you're the only game in town? Madden has been stagnant for more or less 10 years because of that.

If Madden held a monopoly on it because it was the best and most widely bought, despite there being other NFL option games, it would be a "good" monopoly. Monopolies aren't by their nature bad, usually just the ones that don't get their by merit but by artificial means. See Netflix or Amazon.

The problem with monopolies in general is that without competition complacency becomes a real problem. Why innovate and improve when you're the only game in town? Madden has been stagnant for more or less 10 years because of that.

And with the exclusive license to use NFL players Madden has no reason to ever innovate. Therefore no competition exists in the space of NFL football video games.

The problem with monopolies in general is that without competition complacency becomes a real problem. Why innovate and improve when you're the only game in town? Madden has been stagnant for more or less 10 years because of that.

And with the exclusive license to use NFL players Madden has no reason to ever innovate. Therefore no competition exists in the space of NFL football video games.

It also removes any incentive to develop for all platforms. I haven't owned a madden since up the early 00s because they stopped making it for pc. If another company could make a pc nfl game, EA would almost certainly follow suit. If EA didn't, pc sales might be enough to keep the rival afloat until they could challenge or surpass Madden in the console market.

On a side note, I apparently completely forgot how to Madden. I finally won a game on pro last night. I keep throwing picks like a nearsighted Rob Johnson.